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Amazon just laid off 30,000 people to fund a $100 billion AI investment.
They're tightening review policies to stop sellers from gaming the system.
Amazon is obsessed with margin. You should be too.
My friend Ritu Java just canceled her $200/month Wix subscription and rebuilt her entire site using Claude Code in a weekend. Total cost: $20/month for hosting.
That's the mindset shift. What subscriptions, tools, or costs are you carrying just because "that's how we've always done it"?
Also starting February 12, Amazon's about to force that question on your review strategy whether you like it or not.
Quick question: Are you actively cutting costs in your business right now?
Reply "CUTTING" if yes—I want to know what you're eliminating.
Here's what's inside this week:
Let's get into it.
Starting February 12, Amazon will stop sharing reviews between product variations with "significant functional differences."
What's changing:
Color, size, pack quantity, secondary scent, and model fitment variations can still share reviews.
Everything else? You're starting over.
If you grouped products just to aggregate reviews, those reviews disappear. Amazon's rolling this out by category through May 31, 2026. You'll get a 30-day email warning before it hits your products.
Why this matters:
Child ASINs effectively restart their review count from zero. Your conversion rates will tank until you accumulate new reviews.
This eliminates the loophole where sellers grouped completely different products under one parent ASIN just to share 500+ reviews across the family.
Your options:
Reorganize variations NOW to fit the new criteria
Run aggressive review campaigns on individual child ASINs before Feb 12
Accept short-term conversion rate hits and rebuild from scratch
Takeaway for Amazon Sellers:
If you built your business on volume through aggregated reviews instead of genuine product-market fit, February is going to hurt. The sellers who survive this are the ones who start generating reviews on individual ASINs right now—not in March when it's too late.
Source: Amazon Seller Central DE
China / East Asia to US West Coast container rates just hit $2,835 per FEU—up 60% from a month ago.
East Coast isn't much better: $3,807 per FEU, up 47% month-on-month.
The squeeze:
Chinese New Year is mid-February. Factories and customs close. Shippers are racing to move cargo before the shutdown, and carriers know it.
Capacity is up slightly (+2.1% West Coast, +4.5% East Coast), but demand is strong enough to support these price increases.
Here's the kicker: retail inventories are high, and NRF expects January volumes to be 10% lower than last year. Yet rates keep climbing.
What happens next:
Post-CNY (late February), rates might dip temporarily. But don't expect them to fall back to 2025 levels. The new floor is probably $1,900-$2,100 per FEU.
Lock in contract rates NOW if you can. Budget for continued volatility through Q1.
Takeaway for Amazon Sellers:
Ocean freight is eating your margin again. Factor elevated costs into your pricing and inventory planning right now. If you're placing orders for spring/summer inventory, those costs are baked in—adjust your landed cost calculations before you commit to the PO.
Sources: Xeneta, FreightWaves
Amazon's new AI tool automatically discovers products on non-Amazon retailer websites and lists them for sale on Amazon—without asking permission.
Small businesses are finding their entire catalogs on Amazon, including discontinued items they deleted from their own sites.
How it works:
Amazon's AI scrapes product info, pricing, and images from merchant websites. When a customer buys through Amazon, the AI completes the purchase on the merchant's site automatically.
Sounds convenient for customers. Nightmare for merchants.
The problems:
AI-generated images and descriptions don't match actual products
Anonymized "Buy For Me" email addresses prevent direct customer communication
Pricing errors showing wholesale prices instead of retail
Returns and tracking info can't sync between Amazon and merchant platforms
May violate supplier agreements that explicitly prohibit Amazon reselling
Amazon says merchants can "opt out" by emailing support. No proactive notification. No easy opt-out button.
Takeaway for Amazon Sellers:
This shows Amazon's willingness to use AI to expand its marketplace without caring about small business consent. If you have a non-Amazon e-commerce site, check if your products are listed under "Shop brand sites directly" on Amazon. You might be selling on Amazon without knowing it.
Sources: GeekWire, ValueAddedResource
Amazon is cutting up to 30,000 jobs through May 2026, with the first wave starting January 26.
This isn't just restructuring. It's explicitly tied to Amazon's $100 billion investment into AI infrastructure over the next decade.
Where the money's going:
Data centers. Machine learning models. AI-powered products.
Corporate and administrative roles are getting eliminated. The work they did? Increasingly handled by automated systems.
Why sellers should care:
Seller support may get slower or buggier as systems automate. Policy changes might roll out faster with less human oversight. Innovation in seller-facing tools could slow as resources shift to infrastructure.
Takeaway for Amazon Sellers:
Amazon is betting its future on AI and AWS, not on improving seller experience. Expect potential hiccups in support responsiveness and newly automated systems during the transition. The message is clear: Amazon's strategic focus is infrastructure, not seller-facing innovation.
Sources: The HR Digest, National CIO Review
U.S. Delays Furniture Tariff Increases:
Upholstered furniture and kitchen cabinets stay at 25% (not increasing to 30% and 50% as planned). Part of ongoing negotiations with UK, Japan, and EU.
China Cuts 935 Import Duties (Effective Jan 1, 2026):
China reduced import duties on 935 items—worth ~$460 billion in trade value. Focus: advanced materials, green tech, public health.
Notable additions: "Intelligent bionic robots" and "bio-aviation kerosene."
Semiconductor Tariffs (Effective June 23, 2027):
New tariffs on Chinese semiconductors start June 2027. Initial rate: 0% (18-month grace period). After that, rates will stack on top of the existing 50% tariff.
Takeaway for Amazon Sellers:
Furniture sellers get temporary relief. If you source from China, check if any components benefit from reduced import costs. Semiconductor tariffs will create severe cost pressure for electronics in mid-2027. Review your supply chain to maximize USMCA and CAFTA-DR benefits.
Sources: Supply Chain Dive, Asia Times
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P.S. February 12 is 33 days away. If your variations are grouped wrong, you've got one month to fix it or lose all those reviews. Don't wait.